Railway track switch controlling apparatus



Dec. 24, Q w DALZELL 2,025,574

RAILWAY TRACK SWITCH CONTROLLING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 21, 1932 LJE Z2 INVENTOR Clarence Wflalz'ell BY Q W H125 ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 24, 1935 UNITED STATES RAILWAY TRACK SWITCH CON'ERQLLING APPARATUS Application December 21, 1932, Serial No. 648,258

15 Claims.

My invention relates to railway track switch controlling apparatus of a type wherein the operations of a railway track switch are at times effected from a point remote from the switch,

and are at other times effected from a point adjacent the switch.

One feature of my invention is the provision of mechanism actuable otherwise than manually for causing operations of a switch, and the provision of manual means remote from the switch for at times causing actuation of this mechanism, as well as the provision of manual means adjacent the switch for at other times causing actuation of this mechanism.

I will describe one form of apparatus embodying my invention, and will then point out the novel features thereof in claims.

The accompanying drawing is a diagrammatic view showing one form of apparatus embodying my invention.

Referring to the drawing, the reference character F designates a railway track switch which is moved from normal to reverse positions and vice-versa by some suitable device such, for example, as an electric motor Q comprising an armature It and a field winding Il. Motor Q is controlled by mechanism, such for example as a polarized relay W, which is actuable otherwise than manually. Motor Q operates a contact l6 which is closed in a normal operating circuit for motor Q at all times except when motor Q completes the movement of switch F to the normal position, and which is closed in a reverse operating circuit for motor Q at all times except when motor Q completes the operation of switch F to its reverse position.

As determined by a selector lever V energization of relay W is at times effected by control from a point remote from the switch, and is at other times eiiected by control from a point adjacent the switch. Lever V has a normal position n and a reverse position 1'. A contact I, operated by lever V is closed only when lever V is in its n position. A contact 5 and a contact l, both of which are operated by lever V are closed in a left-hand position when lever V is in its 11. position, and are closed in a righthand position when lever V is in its 1' position. When lever V is in its n position. in which it is shown in the drawing, the energization and the direction of energization of relay W are controlled by normal and reverse control relays which are designated by the reference characters D and D respectively.

Relays D and D are controlled by contacts 2 and 9, respectively, of receiving apparatus L which may be of the type which is selectively responsive to current varied according to one code or another. Contact 2 becomes closed when apparatus L is supplied with current varied accord- 5 ing to a given code, and contact 9 becomes closed when apparatus L is supplied with current varied according to a second given code. Receiver L is supplied with current, over line wires 2| and 22, varied according to one code or another 10' by control apparatus K which is located at some remote point such, for example, as a train dispatcher-3s office. Relays D and D are also con trolled by a relay P which is controlled by contact I of lever V 5 When lever V is operated to its reverse or 1' position, the direction of energization of relay W is controlled by a local control lever V adjacent switch F. Lever V also has a normal position 11 and a reverse position 1*. Two pole-changing contacts i9 and 20 are operated by lever V which when in its n position closes these contacts in the left-hand position in which they are shown in the drawing, and when in its 1' position closes these contacts in their right-hand position. 25

For use in emergency to manually move switch F, a hand crank N of a well known type may be provided. In order to move switch F by this means, a trainman will place crank N in the position in which it is shown in dash lines in the drawing, thereby displacing the contact finger l8 to its open position t. The trainman will then manually move switch F by crank N. The opening of contact l8 when crank N is inserted in position for moving switch F will prevent movement 35 of switch F by motor Q while a trainman is manually moving the switch.

As shown in the drawing, lever V is in its normal or a position, switch F is in its normal position, and crank N is removed from the position in which it is shown in dash lines in the drawing. With lever V in its normal position, relay P is energized by its circuit passing from terminal I) of a source of current not shown in the drawing, through contact l of lever V and the winding of relay P to terminal 0 of the same source of current. Normal switch control relay D is energized by its stick circuit passing from terminal b, through contact 3 of relay D contact Hi of relay D winding of relay D and contact 4 of relay P to terminal o. With relay D energized and with lever V in its n position, relay W is energized in the normal direction by a circuit passing from terminal I), through the front point of contact 5 of relay D contact 6 of lever V in its left-hand position, winding of relay W, contact 1 oi. lever V and the back point of contact 8 of relay D 'to terminal 0.

I will assume that, with the various parts of the apparatus thus in their normal condition, a train arrives to do some switching over switch F. A trainman will therefore reverse lever V contact l of which will be thereby opened, and contacts 6 and i of which will be shifted from the left-hand position to the right-hand position. The opening of contact I causes relay P to become deenergized which in turn opens the stick circuit for relay D causing this relay to also become deenergized.

With lever V in its r position and with lever V in its 12 position, relay W will again be energized by current of normal polarity by a circuit passing from terminal 2), through contact I9 01 lever V in its left-hand position, contact 6 of lever V in its right-hand position, winding of relay W, contact l of lever V and contact 20 of lever V to terminal 0.

When the trainman now desires to reverse switch F, he will need only to reverse lever V which, by its contacts 19 and 20, will reverse the direction of flow of current through the winding of relay W. Contacts 53 and 15 of relay W will therefore be shifted to their right-hand position, causing a reverse operating circuit tobe completed for motor Q, passing from terminal I), through contact E2 of relay W, contact l3 of relay W in its right-hand position, armature M of motor Q, contact l5 of relay W, contact l6 of motor Q, field winding ll of motor Q, and contact 18 of crank N to terminal 0. Motor Q will therefore move switch F to its reverse position. Upon the completion of this operation, contact l6 of motor Q will open the reverse operating circuit just traced for motor Q.

If for some reason motor Q should fail to operate, the trainman will insert crank N in the position shown'in dash lines, thereby opening contact l8 by moving the finger of this contact to its t position shown also in dash lines. The trainman will then move switch F, as desired, by means of crank N. When through moving switch F by hand, the trainman will remove crank N from the position shown in dash lines, thereby permitting contact 3 to again close.

When the trainman returns lever V from its 1' position to its 12 position in order to transfer the control of relay W from the local control lever V back to the remote control apparatus, relay P will again become energized by its circuit traced through contact I of lever V and D will, however, remain deenergized until the dispatcher causes control apparatus K to transmit current at a code to cause receiver L to close one of its contacts, contact 2 for example.

Upon the closing of contact 2, relay D will become energized by its pick-up circuit passing from terminal b,through contact 2, winding of relay D and contact 4 of relay P to terminal 0. Relay D upon becoming energized, will complete its stick circuit previously traced, and will therefore continue energized after contact 2 of receiver L opens. Relay W will therefore now again become energized in the normal direction Both relays D tact [5 of relay W in its left-hand position, armature M of motor Q, contact !3 of relay W in its left-hand position, contact i 6 of motor Q, field winding ll of motor Q, and contact l8 of crank N to terminal 0. Motor Q will therefore move 5 switch F to its normal position. Upon the completion of this operation, contact [6 of motor Q will open the normal operating circuit just traced for the motor.

If the dispatcher should afterward desire 1Q switch F to be reversed, he will have control apparatus K transmit current at a code to cause receiver L to close its contact 9. Upon the closing of contact 9, relay D will become energized by its pick-up circuit passing from terminal b, 15 through contact 9, winding of relay D and contact I I of relay P to terminal 0. Relay D upon becoming energized, will complete its stick circuit passing from terminal I), through contact 3 of relay D contact H] of relay D winding of go relay D and contact I l of relay P to terminal 0. The energization of relay D causes its contact 3 to break the stick circuit for relay D which will then become deenergized. With relay D energized and with relay D deenergized, relay W will become energized in the reverse direction by a circuit passing from terminal I), through the front point of contact 8 of relay D contact 1 of lever V in the left-hand position, winding of relay W, contact 6 of lever V and the back point of contact 5 of relay D to terminal 0. The energization of relay W in the reverse direction will cause switch F to be moved to its reverse position in the manner previously de- 7 scribed.

From the foregoing description and the accompanying drawing, it follows that one form of apparatus embodying my invention comprises a motor operated track switch; electrically actuated control mechanism such, for example, as a 40.;

polarized relay W; and a selector lever V for at times transferring the control of relay W from remotely controlled apparatus such for example, as the code controlled relays D and D, to

locally controlled apparatus such, for example as lever V Switch F is therefore operated by motor Q whether controlled by a trainman for switching operations or by the train dispatcher. Switch F will be moved by hand only in cases of emergency, such for example as when the electric apparatus embodying my invention, it is understood that various changes and modifications may be made therein within the scope of the appended claims without departing l'rom the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In combination, a railway track switch, electrical mechanism supplied with energy from a source local to the switch for the control of said switch, apparatus controlled from a remote point for controlling said mechanism, a manually operable device adjacent said switch, a second and independent manually operable device adjacent said switch, and means controlled by said first manually operable device for at times transferring the control of said mechanism from said remotely controlled apparatus to said second manually operable device.

2. In combination, a railway track switch, electrical mechanism supplied with energy from 76 a source local to the switch for the control of said switch, apparatus controlled from a remote point for controlling said mechanism, a manually operable device adjacent said switch, a second and independent manually operable device adjacent said switch, means controlled by said first manually operable device for at times transferring the control of said mechanism from said remotely controlled apparatus to said second manually operable device, a third manually operable device, and means comprising said third manually operable device for at times removing the control of said switch from said electrical mechanism and for manually moving said switch.

3. In combination, a railway track switch, a manually operable device having a first and a second position, a second manually operable device, a remotely controlled contact, a stick relay having a pick-up and a stick circuit one of which is controlled by said contact and the other of which is closed only if said first manually operable device is in its first position, a circuit including a front contact of said relay and closed only if said first manually operable device is in its first position for controlling said switch, and a second circuit controlled by said second manually operable device only when said first manually operable device is in its second position for controlling said switch.

4. In combination, a railway track switch, electrical mechanism selectively responsive to the polarity of current by which it is energized, means controlled by said mechanism for moving said switch to a. normal or a reverse position according as said mechanism becomes energized by current of normal or of reverse polarity, a selector lever having a first and a second position, a manually operable pole-changer, code responsive apparatus having two contacts the first of which becomes closed when current varied according to a given code is supplied to said code responsive apparatus and the other of which becomes closed when current varied according to a second given code is supplied to said code responsive apparatus, means for at times supplying said code responsive apparatus with current of said first code and for at other times supplying said code responsive apparatus with current of said second code, means controlled by said first and second contacts for supplying current of normal or of reverse polarity respectively for energizing said electrical mechanism only if said selector lever is in its first position, and means controlled by said pole-changer for supplying current of normal or of reverse polarity for energizing said electrical mechanism only if said selector lever is in its second position.

5. In combination, a railway track switch, a manually operable device having a first and a second position, a second and independent manually operable device, a manually controlled mechanism, electrical mechanism supplied with energy from a source local to the switch for the control of said switch, means controlled by said manually controlled mechanism for controlling said electrical mechanism only when said first manually operable device is in its first position, and means controlled by saidsecond manually operable device for controlling said electrical mechanism only when said first manually operable device is in its second position.

6. In combination, a railway track switch, a manually operable device having a first and a second position, a second and independent manually operable device, a manually controlled mechanism, means controlled by said manually controlled mechanism for supplying electrical energy from a source local to the switch for controlling said switch only when said first manually operable device is in its first position, and means controlled by said second manually operable device for supplying electrical energy for controlling said switch only when said first manually operable device is in its second position.

7. In combination, a railway track switch, a manually operable device having a first and a second position, a second and independent manually operable device, a manually controlled mechanism, means controlled by said manually controlled mechanism for supplying non-manual energy from a source local to the switch for controlling said switch only when said first manually operable device is in its first position, and means controlled by said second manually operable device for supplying non-manual energy for controlling said switch only when said first manually operable device is in its second position.

8. In combination, a railway track switch, electrical mechanism, means controlled by said mechanism for operating said switch, manually operable apparatus at a remote point, means controlled by said manually operable apparatus for controlling the supply of current to said mechanism from a source local to the switch, a manually operable device adjacent said switch for at times removing said manually operable apparatus from the control of said electrical mechanism, and a second and independent manually operable device adjacent said switch for controlling said electrical mechanism after said manually operable apparatus has been removed from the control of said electrical mechanism.

9. In combination, a railway track switch, a first contact manually controlled from a remote point, a second manually controlled contact adjacent said switch, a third and independently operable manually controlled contact adjacent said switch, a circuit including said first and second contacts for controlling said switch by a source of current local to the switch, and a second circuit including said third contact for controlling said switch by current from said source if said second contact is open.

19. In combination, a railway track switch, a polarized relay, means controlled by said polarized relay for operating said switch to its normal or its reverse position according as said relay is energized by current of normal or of reverse polarity, a manually operable device having a first and a second position, a circuit controlled from a remote point for energizing said relay by current of one polarity or the other only if said manually operable device is in its first position, and a second circuit controlled from a point adjacent said switch for energizing said relay by current of one polarity or the other only if said manually operable device is in its second position.

11. In combination, a railway track switch, an electrical instrument for controlling said switch, a control device at a point remote from said switch, means including said control device for controlling said instrument, a manually operable device adjacent said switch, a second and independent manually operable device adjacent said switch, and means controlled by said first manually operable device ior at times transferring the control of said instrument from said remote control device to said second manually operable device.

12. In combination, a railway track switch, a

contact manually controlled from a remote point, a manually operable device adjacent said switch and having a first contact closed when said device is in a first condition only and having a second contact closed when said device is in a second condition only, a circuit including said remotely controlled contact and the first contact of said manually operable device for causing an operation of said switch, a second and independent manually operable device adjacent said switch, and a second circuit including the second contact of said first manually operable device and controlled also by second manually'operable device for causins an operation of said switch.

13. In combination, a railway track switch, an electro-responsive device for controlling said switch, a circuit controlled from a remote point for energizing said electro-responsive device, a manually operable device adjacent said switch, a second and independent manually operable device adjacent said swit h, and means controlled by saidifirst manually operable device for opening said circuit and for completing a second circuit controlled by said second manually operable device for energizing said electro-responsive device.

14. In combination, a railway track switch, an electro-responsive device for moving said switch to its normal or its reverse position according as said device is energized by current of normal or of reverse polarity, a selector having a normal and a reverse position, means controlled from a remote point and by said selector in the normal position for at times supplying current of normal and reverse polarities to energize said device, and means controlled from a point adjacent said switch and by said selector in the reverse position for at other times supplying current of normal and reverse polarities to energize said device.

15. In combination, a railway track switch, electro-responsive apparatus, means controlled by said electro-responsive apparatus for moving said switch to its normal or its reverse position according as said electro-responsive apparatus is energized in a first or a second given manner, a selector having a normal and a reverse position, means controlled from a remote point and by said selector in the normal position for at times energizing said electro-responsive apparatus in said first and second given manners, and means controlled from a point adjacent said switch and by said selector in the reverse position for at other times energizing said electro-responsive apparatus in said first and second given manners.

CLARENCE W. DALZELL. 

